Opposition bashes government on murders
Published:Tuesday | October 10, 2023 | 2:55 PM
Opposition spokesperson on national security Senator Peter Bunting today bashed the Government’s handling of crime, particularly murders, arguing that more Jamaicans are being killed under the Holness administration.
According to Bunting, on average, 287 more Jamaicans are murdered each year under the Andrew Holness administration when compared to the previous People’s National Party administration.
Bunting, who was speaking at a press conference from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition Tuesday morning, said between 2012 and 2015, when the Portia Simpson Miller-led PNP formed government, an average 1,129 murders were recorded each year.
He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Holness, murders averaged 1,408 between 2016 and 2019 and 1,425 between 2020 and 2023.
He said that this amounted to “a whopping 25 per cent increase” in the annual murder rate between the two periods.
“Let me make it clear. We take no joy in pointing this out to the public. There are vested interests starting with the Holness political administration, its cronies and apologists who would prefer if we were silent on this issue,” said Bunting.
He argued that Jamaica cannot discuss good governance and accountability by hiding what he called the prime minister’s “abject failure” at targeting violent crimes.
Further, Bunting claimed that the PNP’s crime-fighting initiatives were abandoned and the Ministry of National Security’s resources redirected to the “failed policy of the militarisation of policing and the serial and routine use of states of emergency”.
He said 2,300 additional lives have been lost because Holness “has been a slow learner when it comes to adopting policies to sustainably decrease violent crimes”.
At the same time, he said Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson cannot escape blame for the “recent upsurge in violent crimes.
Referencing the quadruple murder in Trelawny this morning, Bunting said that since October, an average five murders have been committed per day.
He called the interdiction of Police Federation Chairman Corporal under Anderson’s stewardship “divisive and demotivating” for many rank-and-file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Up to September 30, the police said major crimes were down 13 per cent when compared with the similar period for 2022.
Broken down, murders recorded a 12 per cent drop, shootings nine per cent, rape 18 per cent and robberies 17 per cent.
- Kimone Francis
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